I am white and I am privileged
My heart is heavy. I stand in solidarity with the fight against racism. BLACK LIVES MATTER!
I am white, I am privileged, and I have a lot of work to do. From the little work I have done, there are two things I’ve been taught: White people are only on their way to becoming allies when they take action, and remaining silent or neutral is the same thing as supporting racism and injustice.
Taking action: I used to think taking action meant posting a picture on social media. Now I understand taking action means donating, signing petitions, calling lawmakers, protesting, reading books and doing the work, listening to black and brown communities, and voting for a president who isn’t a racist . . . just to name a few. I still have so many actions to take and so much to learn, but I’ve donated, I’ve read books and ordered more, I’ve called, I’ve signed my name, and I will continue to learn more and do more. Here are a few of the action steps I’ve taken if you aren’t sure where to start:
Sign this petition to have the remaining officers in George Floyd’s case arrested and charged
If you are white, educate yourself on systemic racism and learn how to be an ally. Three books to start with: White Fragility, So You Want To Talk About Race, and How To Be An Antiracist
Donate to Black Lives Matter here, Color of Change here, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund here, and Campaign Zero here
When it’s time to vote, vote for elected officials who are anti-racist
Being silent or neutral: I used to not speak up because I didn’t know what to say, how to say it, and I didn’t want to be uncomfortable or make anyone else uncomfortable. I now know being uncomfortable is my own problem. You cannot call yourself a “leader” if you are quiet or neutral and not using your platform to demand change. No matter how “uncomfortable” it is, white people need to talk about racism, call out other white people who aren’t, and educate our white friends when we notice racism. We must tell them it is unacceptable no matter how “uncomfortable” that may feel.
If you are leading a team or an organization, I urge you to communicate with your people about recent events. Now is the time we look to our leaders. We want to know what our leaders and our organizations stand for. It can be hard to find the right words—and personally I‘m not sure if I have them—but I’ve learned that it’s better to say something than to remain silent and say nothing at all.
Here are some of the things we are doing at Student Maid to break the silence:
In a company-wide address, we communicated our position: Student Maid stands in solidarity with the fight against racism, and we believe that all lives can’t matter until black lives matter.
We are hosting meetings with our team this week and creating the space for our people to share how they feel and discuss actions they can take individually and collectively to fight against racism.
We are joining the “Amplify Melanated Voices” movement and muting ourselves on social media until June 7th to amplify black voices. After that, we will continue to speak up about what we are doing to fight against racism.
I am white, I am privileged, and I have a lot of work to do. You have my word that I will do it. If you have work to do, I hope you’ll do it too.
Big hugs,
